Dec 31, 2012

Dec 20, 2012

Federator N°1 brings together afrobeat and
afro-dance music in an exceptional live experience. Originals and
arrangments of familiar tunes are at once both deeply traditional and
unapologetically modern - maintaining the power of music to speak to
today's situation - culturallly, politically, and musically. Federator
N°1 will free both your body and your mind.

Based in Boston, where there is a vibrant african music scene, Federator N°1's name is inspired by a piece about Fela Kuti. One of the guys who worked on Radio Shrine
furthering Fela's musical message spoke about the role of the station
as the primary Federator of Afrobeat. In that vein, our role is to be
the Federator of the first order of afrobeat and afro-centric dance
music in Boston. The name also references Konono N°1, and the fantastic
work they are doing playing music that is at once traditional and
modern.

Dec 17, 2012

Unlike his 2010 Grammy-winning album, Africa for Africa, Femi Kuti opted to record its forthcoming follow-up, No Place for My Dream,
in Paris instead of Nigeria. Why remove himself from his native
country? As the 50-year-old singer and son of Afrobeat pioneer Fela
tells Rolling Stone when he calls from Nigeria, he wanted to
take advantage of the technological advances abroad to fully energize
his highly politicized music. "I live this experience. I'm in Nigeria
right now," he explains. "We have no electricity in my house. There was a
bomb blast in Kano today. So I'm experiencing it."

Kuti sees No Place for My Dream as the inevitable return to
the Afrobeat music which helped launch his career in the late Eighties
and culminated with the release of 1998's critically acclaimed Shoki Shoki.
In the years since, Kuti says he found himself with the opportunity to
expand his musical repertoire, most notably by working with American
hip-hop artists such as Mos Def, Common and Jaguar Wright for 2001's Fight to Win.
"It was my going off what I wanted to do, what I had to do," he says.
"Now it's going back on track where I really want to be with No Place for My Dream. It's like going back to where I started off."

The album also breaks new topical grounds. "I think this album is
probably more political than any of the songs I've done," he says. For
the album's highly emotional bent, the singer drew upon his experiences
touring abroad, as well as his constant ingestion of news reports of
global suffering. "I'm feeling the pain of the people that love my
music," he says. "I'm watching the news and seeing all the riots, so
many people out of work, the global recession. This is very
disheartening news. The songs are not really for Nigeria or Africa
anymore. They are for people I love. I'm just voicing their pain with my
music."

To that effect, the singer doesn't mince words in his new tunes. On
"No Work No Job No Money," over a slinky guitar groove and reggae-tinged
synths, he ruminates on behalf of the 99 percent: "See the suffering of
the people/ They no getting nothing/ Then they hungry," he laments. On
"Politic Na Big Business" his aim shifts to the greed of our world's
lawmakers: "As I rack my brain/ Trying to understand politics/ Again and
again/ Politicians use the same tactics," he bellows atop a foreboding,
minor-key melody with a stabbing horn section.

Kuti is aware that returning to his Afrobeat roots– and loading his
songs with political undercurrents – will likely draw comparisons to his
late father. However, he insists he's keen on carving his own path. "I
think it's very important for me to give tribute to who it's due," he
says. "So that's very important to my father's creation. I must respect
that all the time. But I don't want to be my father's replica. I want to
find my own spirit, my own soul and my own voice."

The singer plans to release No Place for My Dream in early
2013 and will hit the road just after the New Year, kicking off a string
of U.S. tour dates on January 13th in Miami. Having recently turned 50,
Kuti says he now feels better equipped to balance his touring life with
his role as a father to his 10 children. "I think I'm a better person
now," he says. "I'm calmer. I think when I was younger, I was very
overprotective to a lot of personal issues. I was too hard on people
around me. People probably think I'm too sensitive now and too
emotional, blah, blah, blah, blah. I like me where I am now."

Dec 14, 2012

Ifang
Bondi, meaning "be yourself" in Mandinka language, grew out of the
former Gambian band called the Super Eagles. Founded in the 60's the
Super Eagles was the undisputed top group in the Gambia and Senegal. In
1968 they toured Ghana, making an enormous impact with their very
African sound in a country which was shortly to produce Osibisa.

In 1970 Super Eagles was disbanded only to rise up again in 1973, as
Ifang Bondi. The name was new as the sound, featuring for the first time
indigenous Senegambian rhythms, melodies and instruments. They
integrated traditional instruments as kora, balafon, sabar, talking
drum, bugarabu and djembe with mordern instruments as the electric
guitar, base and keyboards.

As such they have been credited to be the true originators of the
current "Afro-Manding" sound as extemporised by stars such as Yousou
N'dure, Salif Keïta and Mory Kante.

With
the latest CD "Gis Gis" Ifang Bondi celebrates their 25 years of
existence with the leader bassist Badou Jobe who is the only original
member remaining in the band. Badou Jobe has been with the Super Eagles
from the beginning and has been the driving force in 1973 when the big
change in style happened. The group lives in The Gambia and makes tours
to Europe every year with a base in the Netherlands.

Dec 7, 2012

TERANGA BEAT proudly presents the ROYAL BAND de THIÈS in their first ever and entirely unreleased 1979 recording. Singers and composers JAMES GADIAGA & SECKA
will guide you through the sweet melodies, wicked rhythms and vocal
traditions of Senegalese music, in a fabulous performance that combines MBALAX with AFRO-JAZZ. While many bands in the world claimed the title of “Pacesetters” none can stand next to ROYAL BAND de THIÈS. The 9-member band with its dynamite percussion and horn sections will twist you like tornado! Tracks like "HOMMAGE À MBAYE FALL"
will take you on a musical journey to the cultural crossroads of
Senegal, West Africa’s meeting point of European, Latin American and
African musical traditions. This real-time, two-microphone recording
gives the impression that the group is playing live in front of you,
making it hard to believe it dates back 33 years ago! The liner notes of
the double gatefold LP and CD booklet include more interesting details,
outlining JAMES's & SECKA's musical careers along with the past and present of the band. We hope you will enjoy!

The Royal Band de Thiès was formed by Mapathé
'James' Gadiaga in
1972, after he had left a school band Cayor Rhythm de Thiès. He soon called upon singer
Adama Seck 'Secka' to join him.
In their hometown Thiès, the second city of the country with more than 300,000 inhabitants,
located around 70 kms East of Dakar, the Royal Band frequently performed in various clubs and venues, and
recorded in Club Sangomar. Only occasionally they performed in Dakar.

They released a few cassettes and made it to
reasonable fame in Senegal but never made it to international audience nor to an international release. Only a small
incrowd of Senegalese music fans was familiar with them until small Dutch label Dakar
Sound released a number of their songs on their compilations. Their music is loved for the expressive, soulful vocals and
the raw and funky rhythms. The Royal Band's style of mbalax can be seen as quite recognisable.

Another niche label for Senegambian music, Teranga Beat, uncovered their first recordings from
1979, thusfar unreleased. The album « Kadior Demb » is the first
full-length album available after so many years.

In 1984, Mapathé 'James' Gadiaga left to join Super Diamono
before engaging in other musical adventures (Johnny Clegg, followed by a period in France), before
creating Super Cayor de Dakar back in Senegal.

In August 2004, Greek DJ Adamantios Kafetzis was traveling West
Africa and found himself in Thiès, a quiet city 40 miles east of the
port city of Dakar, the capital of Senegal. In a derelict nightclub he
was smitten with the band, The Royal Band de Thiès, and particularly
their singer, Adam Seck dit Secka, whose powerful voice summoned the
authority of the ancient griots amidst the contemporary dance rhythms.
Scouring the city for recordings by the Royal Band yielded only a
handful of dodgy cassettes, but the search inspired Kafetzsis to start
his own label, Teranga Beat, in order to unearth previously lost
documents of Senegal’s rich musical landscape. The discovery of a stash
of archival tapes recorded by local impresario Moussa Diallo “Sangomar”
Thiès has yielded a handful of releases, all of them excellent, but none
quite as revelatory as Kadior Demb, the previously unreleased first album by The Royal Band recorded live in the studio in 1979.

The Royal Band de Thiès was formed by Secka and Mapathe Gadiaga dit
James in 1972 and they were one of the progenitors of a style of music
that would become known as Mbalax. Now the national popular dance music
of Senegal and Gambia, Mbalax was initially developed in response to the
perceived decadence of the post-colonial period and the rise of African
nationalism. A fusion of Western dance styles like jazz, funk and Latin
American salsa, Mbalax distinguishes itself from more Europeanized
African music by singing in Wolof, the regional lingua franca, and the
integration of indigenous sabar tribal drumming with the conventional
rhythm section. James was instrumental in leading this charge and
eventually left for greener pastures in Dakar, Pretoria (where he
briefly played with Johnny Clegg) and Marseille before returning to
Senegal to form Super Cayor de Dakar. James can be heard on Kadior Demb,
his keening tenor providing a delightful contrast with Secka’s silky
baritone and the nine-piece band typical of the era, complete with dual
electric guitars and a stabbing horn section.

What makes The Royal Band’s version of Mbalax unique is their
distinctive approach to rhythm. Accents and downbeats are subtly
displaced, making an even number of beats sound uneven—all the while
remaining imminently danceable—and this rhythmic device can be found all
over Kadior Demb. On songs like “Cherie Coco,” “Korolober” and
“Righie Righie,” a six-beat meter is made to sound like a measure of
four plus an extra two beats, while on “Dagath,” an eight-beat meter
feels like a measure of three beats plus five. These asymmetrical
metrical schemes contrast starkly with the up-and-down rhythms of
Western music and provide an off-kilter yet strongly propulsive drive.
Elsewhere, as on dreamy ballads like “Ma Kodou Deguene,” “Doudhane” and
“Sama Yaye Boye,” the duple rhythms are more straightforward and flowing
but with the voices and instruments weaving intertwined melodies of
complex syncopation. Meanwhile, “Hommage à Mbaye Fall” is the most
Westernized sounding track, a long Afro-jazz jam session with moody
saxophone soloing over a bed of two-chord, modal vamping. Nevertheless,
it is as beguiling as everything else on the album.

Recorded with just two microphones at the Sangomar Night Club in Thiès, Kadior Demb,
boasts astonishingly vivid sound quality, bringing The Royal Band right
into your living room. Every guitar curlicue, horn riff and vocal line
is crystal clear and extraordinarily detailed while the bass and drums
pack a solid punch—proof of the efficacy of a simple stereo recording
technique. The CD sounds great but I’d be willing to bet the limited
edition two-LP vinyl edition sounds even better and would be well worth
seeking out. While Kadior Demb is a glorious discovery,
Kafetzis claims two more unreleased recordings are forthcoming. The
resurrection of these long-lost documents should bring The Royal Band de
Thiès the international recognition which is so obviously long overdue.

Dec 5, 2012

C.K. Mann made his name as a virtuous guitar player in Ghana when he played with Moses Kweku Oppong in the Kakaikus Guitar Band
in the early 60s. He then became the leader of the band Ocean’s Strings
until 1966. In 1968, he enjoyed a hit with the single ‘Edina Benya’.

Mann was known for blending authentic African music with European
influences. He was inspired by Latin American music and created a style
all of his own. He became known as the ‘King of Highlife‘ in Ghana in
the 70's, when he released the record ‘Nimpa Rebre’ featuring vocals
from Pat Thomas and Kofi Yankwon.

Funky Highlife came out of the Essiebons label run by
Dick Essilfe Bondzie. According to Dick, this album could have been a
massive hit in Ghana but the vinyl factories ran out of stock because of
Ghana’s economic downturn, so the demand for the record could not be
met. The album is a fusion of highlife and soul. The best-known track
‘Asafo beesuon’ is a multi-layered, drum heavy, funk medley and is over
13 minutes long.

In the late 90s hip hop producers started hearing about Afrobeat through the sounds of Fela Kuti. Steinski, one of the most influential early producers in hip hop, sampled Asafo Beesoun
and suddenly all the hip hop collectors wanted a copy. Hence, the
original LP is a hard-to-find and sought-after collectors item.

C.K. Mann first rose to fame I'm the early 60s playing guitars in
Ghana with Moses Kweku Oppong I'm the Kakaikus Guitar Band before moving
to lead the band Ocean's Strings until 1966. Funky Highlife is the latest re-release in Mr Bongo's never ending pursuit of gems from the past, coming as part of the Classic African Recordings Series.

Funky Highlife
was originally released through the Essiebons label but according to
the manager of that label, Dick Essilfe Bondzie, the album never reached
the audience it could have due to an economic downturn in Ghana which
subsequently lead to a lack of vinyl for vinyl factories. Bad times.

African
music has often influence mainstream music, with regular growths in
popularity and influence over the past few decades. Whether the post
punk experimentations of the early 80s or the influence on hip-hop and
soul in the late 90s or the subsequent re-influence on noughties indie
via post punks revival. Funky Highlife is a fusion of African sounds, Latin American music & style and soul.

This
re-release comes in two flavours - the original on vinyl, which
features two extended medleys, and an extended CD with and extra
40-minutes of music across eight songs. It's hard to deny that this
sounds richer, more authentic and ultimately better on LP, and since the
vinyl release also includes a download code it is clearly the version
to get.

The actual music is hard not to love - laid back Highlife
fused to Latin-jazz elements and soul. The 'Asafo Beesuon' medley is
gently strummed and hummed, an infectious and joyful patter. Melodies
are plucked out in a relaxed way and the music and vocals create a
laid-back mood. 'Beebi A Odo Wo' is a little less horizontal, a snappy
and soulful track with sharper rhythms, jazz-influenced guitar and some
well timed brass.
Highlife is a style of music originating in
Ghana influenced by jazz, with horns and layered guitars commonly
featuring. These days it's perhaps a little less common to hear it
called out than Afrobeat, Nigeria's equivalent - and it lacks the kind
of attention that Fela Kuti's success brought to the latter. It has
still had periods of larger success as a genre though, rising to
popularity in the in the 60s.

Funky Highlife, either in
its original or extended forms, is music to embrace and cherish, to
chase the blues and cloud away. It comes together to make something
bigger than any individual moment - instead its a record to leave to
unfurl whilst business of life goes on around you.

Trawling through the Urban Essence promos mailbox can, at times, be a
tedious task. While we’re blessed with receiving a lot of exciting new
music that’s fresh off the press, one sometimes feels bombarded by the
deluge of uninteresting, formulaic and imitatory sounds that come
hand-in-hand with it.

But every now and then, you stumble across
something that’s a little bit different, something that makes your ears
prick up in refreshment. And when the Funky Highlife from C.K. Mann & His Carousel 7 landed in our inbox the other day, that’s exactly what happened.

The first of a new series of re-releases from London-based-globally-faced world music label Mr Bongo, Funky Highlife
is a collection of tracks dating back to the ‘70s from one of the
foremost purveyors of the timeless Ghanaian style of Highlife – C.K.
Mann.

For those unfamiliar, Highlife is the jazzy, funk-infused sound that originated in Ghana in the early 20th
Century, later developing into a global phenomenon in the ‘60s when US
funk and soul records made their way onto the shores of the Gold Coast
and found themselves assimilated into the local styles. Highlife put
Ghana on the musical map in much the same way as Afrobeat did for
neighbouring Nigeria.

As one of Ghana’s most highly lauded
guitarists, C.K. Mann collaborated with numerous luminaries of the
Highlife scene, like Moses Kweku Oppong in the Kakaikus Guitar Band, Pat
Thomas and Kofi Yankwon, which lead to him later being dubbed the ‘King
of Highlife’.

The most notable track on the album is without doubt the epic and fantastical 13-minute jam, Asafo Beesuon Medley;
an effortless melange of laidback African drums, flirting accordions,
cheerful guitar riffs, and the glorious vocal musings of Mann that kick
off the record in magnificent style.

The Beebi a odo wo
medley continues in blissfully sun-kissed fashion, its organ and big
band backing track gelling seamlessly with Mann’s crooning, exhibiting
that most classically appealing feature of Highlife music; the ability
to be so powerfully emotive despite remaining so nonchalantly easygoing.

While the original LP was centered mainly
around these two tracks, this newly re-issued CD features an additional
eight songs, all in the same vein as their original predecessors, making
for a thoroughly enjoyable and extended listening experience.

With much of the genre’s back catalogue
obscured by the often extremely limited number of pressings in their
native setting, Mr Bongo has with this album launched a major
restoration project that aims to bring these and other wonderfully
undiscovered African sounds into the 21st Century. And if the rest of the series is anything like this magnificent first offering, we’ve a lot to look forward to.

Thanx for passing by ...

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